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Population
During the reign of Antoninus (emperor AD 138-161), there is a population
of up to 1.5 million in Rome. The city has some 46,000 insulae
– apartment blocks – some rising to almost 20 metres (66 feet).
The second biggest city in the empire is Alexandria, with a population
of more than half a million at the time of the massacre
in AD 215. Londinium (London) is home to about 30,000 in the mid-2nd century
AD.
Overall, an estimated 60 million people reside in the Roman empire at
the time of Augustus (ruled 27 BC-AD 14). About one-fifth or one-sixth
of these are thought to be slaves. In Italy, there are about six million
individuals, one-third of them slaves.
Currency
During the Republic, all coins are minted by permission of the Senate.
To indicate this, many Republican coins carry the letters 'SC', which
stand for Senatus consultum – 'by decree of the Senate'. Later,
during the empire, the emperor directly controls the minting of silver
and gold coins, leaving only the minting of bronze coins to the Senate.
Coins are initially minted in the Temple of Juno Moneta on the Capitoline
Hill in Rome – our word 'money' is derived from the name Moneta.
Barter During the early Republic (and again in the later
empire, when the currency is so devalued as to be almost worthless), barter
is the main form of trade. Cattle – pecus in Latin, from which
we get the word 'pecuniary' (concerning or consisting of money) –
are the common standard of exchange. Rough pieces of bronze, called aes
rude, are used as small change.
Bronze coins From the early 3rd century BC, these bronze
pieces begin to be standardised and marked, forming a regular currency.
The basic unit is the as, which weighs one libra, or Roman
pound (327.45g). This is divided into 12 aes grave, each equalling
a Roman ounce. The main coins are:
• as
• semis (half as)
• triens (third as)
• quadrans (quarter as)
• sextans (sixth as)
• uncia (twelfth as)
Silver and gold In 269 BC, the Romans introduce a higher-denomination
Greek-style silver coin. This lasts until about 187 BC, when the currency
is reorganised and the silver denarius, worth about 10 asses
(the plural of as), is brought in. Inflation leads to the devaluation
of the as, though, and by about 130 BC, it is worth 16 to the denarius.
Under Augustus, new coins are introduced and the gold aureus becomes
more common. The basic coinage thus becomes:
• as (brass/bronze alloy)
• dupondius (brass, worth 2 asses)
• sestertius (brass, 4 asses)
• denarius (silver/silver alloy, 16 asses)
• aureus (gold, 400 asses)
Later empire Caracalla (emperor AD 211-217) introduces
the silver antonianus (worth two denarii); Diocletian (AD
284-305) replaces this with the bronze follis. Constantine (AD
306-337) introduces the gold solidus, each of which weighs 1/72
of a Roman pound.
Wages and prices
Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, rising inflation leads the emperor
Diocletian to fix prices and wages – though not before the currency
has been devalued by 50%. Here are some examples of the amounts that were
fixed for particular jobs and products:
|
Wages
(per day, unless stated otherwise)
|
 |
Denarii
|
|
Barber,
per haircut (man)
|
|
2
|
|
Bath
attendant, per person
|
|
2
|
| Scribe,
per 100 lines |
|
20
|
| Farm
labourer (with meals) |
|
25
|
| Camel
or donkey driver |
|
25
|
| Sewer
cleaner |
|
25
|
| Baker |
|
50
|
| Teacher,
per boy per month |
|
50-160
|
| Wall
painter (with meals) |
|
75
|
| Picture
painter (with meals) |
|
160
|
|
|
|
| Prices |
|
Denarii
|
| 1 egg
|
|
1
|
| 5 lettuces |
|
4
|
| 4lb
of dessert grapes |
|
4
|
| 1 sectarius
of beer |
|
4
|
| 1 sectarius
(about half a litre) of ordinary wine |
|
8
|
| 1lb
of beef |
|
8
|
| 1lb
of freshwater fish |
|
8
|
| 1 Roman
lb (about 235 g) of pork |
|
12
|
| 1lb
of seafish |
|
24
|
| 1 lemon |
|
24
|
| 1 sectarius
of Falernian wine |
|
30
|
| 1 chicken |
|
30
|
| 1 sectarius
of good quality olive oil |
|
40
|
| 0.5
litre of best quality honey |
|
40
|
| Pair
of women's boots |
|
60
|
| Pair
of senator's shoes |
|
100
|
| 1 army
modius (about a bushel) of wheat |
|
100
|
| 1 army
measure of meat |
|
100
|
| 1 army
measure of beans |
|
100
|
| Pair
of farm labourer's boots |
|
120
|
| 1 pheasant
|
|
250
|
| 1lb
pure white silk |
|
12,000
|
| 1 male
slave |
|
30,000
|
| 1lb
genuine emperor's purple silk |
|
150,000
|
| 1 racehorse |
|
100,000
|
Taxes
Various taxes apply throughout the empire. Inheritance taxes can be particularly
steep. One of the reasons why later emperors extend citizenship rights
throughout the empire is so that those who receive them become liable
for inheritance tax. As well as various duties on different goods, Augustus
also introduces a 1% sales tax. It is halved in AD 17 but increased again
in AD 31.
Maps
Travellers can call upon various guides or maps to find their way. One
of these, the 'Antonine Itinerary', provides an invaluable guide to Roman
Britain, listing all the major forts, towns and cities and the distances
between them. Another, known as the 'Peutinger Table', resembles an early
AA route map offering the same sort of information.
The calendar
The Roman calendar is based on the agricultural cycle, so traditionally
the year starts with the sowing period in March. Indeed, the winter months
aren't initially even given names. The calendar in use throughout the
period of the empire is one devised by Julius Caesar following his conquest
of Egypt in 48 BC. It is based on the Alexandrian Aristarchus's calendar
of 239 BC, consisting of a solar year of 365 days, divided into 12 months,
with an extra day every fourth (leap) year. The Roman calendar is amended
when Quintilis and Sextilis – the fifth and sixth months – are
renamed Julius and Augustus in honour of Julius Caesar and the emperor
Augustus. An extra day is taken from February and added to August, so
that it has 31 days instead of 30, which might have made the month of
Augustus seem inferior to that of Julius.
Roman years are counted ab urbe condita ('from the founding of
the city'), so that Julius Caesar's calendar is adopted in the year 706
AUC – what we now know as 46 BC.
Names of months and their origins
January Named after the Roman god Janus who is usually
depicted with one face looking forwards and one backwards and represents
doors, beginnings and endings, the sunset and sunrise.
February Named after the Roman festival marking the forgiveness
of sins, held on 15 February, from the Latin februare, 'to purify'.
March Named after Mars, the god of war.
April May be named after the goddess Aphrodite (the Greek
name for Venus) or possibly from the Latin aperire, 'to open'.
May Named after the goddess Maia, the daughter of Atlas
and mother of Mercury.
June Named after Juno, the principal female deity.
July Originally Quintilis, the fifth month, renamed in
46 BC in honour of Julius Caesar, who was born in this month.
August Originally Sextilis, the sixth month, renamed in
AD 8 in honour of Augustus.
September From the Latin for seven, septem, the
seventh month in the Roman calendar.
October From the Latin for eight, octo, the eighth
month in the Roman calendar.
November From the Latin for nine, novem, the ninth
month in the Roman calendar.
December From the Latin for ten, decem, the tenth
month in the Roman calendar.
Languages and writing
There are scores of different languages spoken in the empire, but the
main ones for administrative, business and diplomatic purposes are Latin
(the language of Rome) in the west and Greek in the east. The Latin alphabet
has 22 letters: 'W' and 'Y' do not exist, while no distinction is made
between 'I' and 'J' or between 'U' and 'V'.
Roman numbers
The Romans do not use the Arabic numerals that we know today. Instead,
their system comprises strings of letters to represent numbers. This can
be cumbersome and clumsy, particularly with larger numbers (1,878, for
example, is written as MDCCCLXXVIII), making any kind of arithmetic problematic:
Romans use the abacus for most calculations. Bear in mind also that the
same number can sometimes be represented in different ways. The number
four, for example, may be written as IV or, less commonly, IIII.
Table of numbers
I unus 1
II duo 2
III tres 3
IV quattor 4
V quinque 5
VI sex 6
VII septem 7
VIII octo 8
IX novem 9
X decem 10
XX viginti 20
XXX triginta 30
XL quadriginta 40
L quinquaginta 50
C centum 100
CC ducenti 200
CCC trecenti 300
CD quadringenti 400
D quingenti 500
M mille 1000
Roman measures
The Roman inch, or uncia, is just short of a modern inch (0.97
inches or 24.6 mm). The Roman foot, or pes, has 12 unciae. One
and a half feet, or pedes, equal one cubitum; two and a
half pedes equal one gradus; and two gradi equal
one passus, the Roman pace (1.48 metres). There are 125 passi
in one stadium and 1,000 passi in the Roman mile, or mille
(about 1,480 metres).
Liquids The standard unit for liquid measurement is the
sextarius, roughly equal to a British pint (0.568 litres). Larger
measurements include the urna, or urn, and the amphora.
Containers made to these standard sizes are used to transport wine, oil
and other liquids.
• 4 quartarii = 1 sextarius
• 6 sextarii = 1 congius
• 4 congii = 1 urna
• 2 urnae = 1 amphora
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